A/N: Oren knows Sophia too damn well at this point.

  He also knows this is almost certainly a bad idea…

  -x-X-x-

  Oh Sophia… no…

  As the goddess takes unsteady, trembling steps in his direction, Oren can already see it in her eyes… she's not going to kill him.

  He honestly wishes she would. For all that Tyranos is an evil, lying bastard of a god, if there's even the slightest chance that Sophia might get to survive, she needs to take it. Oren doesn't see any other way for them to get out of this. The God of Tyranny is just too damn powerful.

  No, the only way is for him to die. If Sophia would just kill him, then maybe she might have a chance. It was a slim one of course, reliant on the whims of a capricious and fickle god. Still, it was a chance. Besides, it wasn't like she owed him anything. She didn't owe anyone in this bsted world anything at this point.

  … Unfortunately, given she's already pretended to take Tyranos' deal, Oren can't speak up and beg her to reconsider without tipping the Ancient God off. Or… can he?

  "Sophia…"

  The goddess pauses, staring at him from about halfway across the cave, dagger in her trembling hands. She's shaking like a leaf. Looking her in the eye, Oren does everything in his power to convey his meaning to her and her alone with his next works.

  "Don't do this. Please…"

  And for once, despite the numerous times they've failed to be even remotely on the same page… it works. He sees understanding dawn in Sophia's eyes which widen slightly at the same time. Meanwhile, Tyranos just ughs.

  "Begging for your life now insect? How quaint. But my niece knows what she has to do. You're the st thing holding her back from her new life. Once you're dead, the whole world becomes her oyster."

  Sophia bites her lower lip before slowly nodding.

  "H-He's right Oren. I'm sorry."

  As she takes another step, Oren slowly exhales. Tyranos can't see it but he can… there's desperation in Sophia's eyes but also determination. She won't take the easy way out, no matter how much he might want her to. She won't just kill him.

  That means she's going to try something. Is she going to pretend to kill him and then leave him here presumed dead? Somehow, he doesn't expect Tyranos to fall for that sort of thing. Perhaps she's expecting to be able to pass off the dagger so he can try to kill Tyranos himself.

  Shifting as much as he dares, Oren thinks he might be able to do it. A single throw, right at the Ancient God's face. If he didn't see it coming, they could end all of this right here and right now. They could cut the head off of the snake and kill the Void Gods' leader.

  … But the likelihood of success is next to none. Especially since Tyranos is watching too closely. If Sophia tries something, the God of Tyranny will see it and put a stop to it, surely. They need a distraction. They need to draw this out.

  When Sophia is close enough to block Oren from Tyranos' view entirely, Oren looks up at her and mouths the words 'hit me'. The goddess stops then, blinking down at him as he mouths them again. He dares not even try to whisper his instructions… he can only hope she'll read his lips properly.

  She needs to hit him, to beat him senseless. Maybe even cut him a little bit. She needs to hurt him, both to convince Tyranos that she's on his side and to bore the Ancient God even a little bit.

  'Hit me', he mouths again. 'Beat me', he tells her.

  Sophia stares down at him for a long moment before her shoulders begin to shake. From behind her, Tyranos scoffs.

  "Truly? You're not going to survive long in the world I'm creating if you struggle with even this much, dear niece. Your domains might be interesting, but-!

  C-CRACK!

  The Ancient God is cut off mid-word, even as Oren's head twists to the side from the blow Sophia just nded on his cheek. She was smart enough to hit him with the pommel of the dagger, striking him with it hard. Oren lets out a groan, trying to make it seem like it had hurt more than it actually did At the same time, he meets her eyes and mouths 'more' to her.

  To her credit, Sophia follows up with a series of inexperienced but seemingly enthusiastic blows. She sms her foot into his gut, she bashes him back and forth across the face, and she even uses the dagger to through his armor and across his chest in multiple pces. They're shallow enough gashes not to put him in any real danger, but they still bleed freely, steadily staining his clothing.

  Tyranos watches for a few minutes as Sophia seemingly 'gets it out of her system', smiling approvingly all the while. As Oren had thought, this sort of violence is something the Ancient God approves of quite a bit. But finally…

  "Enough, Sophia. Finish the job if you please. The Otherworlder is nothing but a distraction at this point."

  Stopping, her entire body as tense as a well-strung bow, Sophia trembles for a moment before bowing her head.

  "… You're right, Uncle. He's nothing."

  Then, with a snarl, she goes for it. To her credit, Oren thinks it probably looks pretty good, especially for an inexperienced fighter like Sophia. The Celestial Dagger clenched in her fist, the goddess goes for an upward swing that would bury the magical bde right in Oren's chest, likely piercing through numerous vital organs before eventually skewering his heart.

  As she does so, she drops into something of a crouch, her other hand falling to Oren's shoulder for support. And that's when she tries to pull it off. Instead of stabbing him in the chest, Sophia flips the knife over out of Tyranos' view and grazes the pommel along his ribs before pushing it right into his waiting palm.

  The instant that Oren feels the handle of the bde nd in his grasp, he's moving. Putting every ounce of his strength and speed into it, he lunges upwards against Tyranos' loosened restraint.

  "GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

  A primal shout of pure noise leaves Oren's throat as he breaks free of the mere presence that the Ancient God exudes. For just a split second, he's free to move… and that split second is all he needs. With all his might, muscles bulging, Oren throws the Celestial Dagger right at Tyranos' smug face.

  …

  Unfortunately, the God of Tyranny is not caught as off guard as they might have hoped. Faster than even Oren's eyes can track, Tyranos' hand snaps up and catches the dagger mere inches from his right eye.

  "So very disappointing. Just as inflexible as your father, in the end."

  Oren is expecting Tyranos' power to sm into him again. He's expecting the God of Tyranny and Conquest to force him back to the floor of the cave and is bracing himself for the incoming pain. But that's not what happens. Only at the st possible second does Oren realize… he's not going to be Tyranos' first target at this point.

  Almost contemptuously, with a simple but blindingly fast flick of his wrist, Tyranos throws the dagger of Celestial Metal back at them. No, not at them… at Sophia. She can't react in time. It's a question of whether she even knows it's coming. And Oren can't pull her out of the way either, not without moving her fast enough to hurt her.

  … So he does the only thing he can do. Really, he'd love to say he thought it out and came to the logical and rational conclusion that this was the only way. But the truth is… his body moves on its own.

  Interposing himself between the bde and Sophia, Oren shields the goddess with his body even as she's just starting to react. A moment ter and the Celestial Dagger hits his back, the magical bde tearing through him and lodging firmly in one of his lungs.

  As Oren chokes on his own blood, staggering from the sudden pain, he notes that at least he stopped the dagger's momentum enough to keep it from stabbing her. As Sophia stares down at where the tip of the bde is protruding from his chest in horror, Oren tries his best to give her a reassuring grin. Unfortunately, the red seeping out of his mouth probably doesn't help very much.

  -x-X-x-

  "NO! OREN!"

  As Oren begins to fall, Sophia is there to catch him. But he's too big for her and in the end, it sends them both to the ground, with her holding the Otherworlder in her arms. He's trying to say something but the blood bubbling out of his mouth makes it a struggle.

  "S-Stop talking, you're only making it work. Just focus on breathing, okay?"

  "Heh. That's likely to be difficult with a ruined lung."

  Sophia's head snaps up to see Tyranos staring at them both in malevolent amusement. After a moment, the Ancient God shakes his head and steps over to the armor and bde to his side.

  "Shame that it had to come to this, niece. That you tried to kill me… I can almost respect that. Almost, but not quite. Defiance… is not something a God of Tyranny can ever tolerate."

  To her horror, Tyranos just reaches out to the wrapped pieces of armor… and the metal flows from under the cloth its wrapped in, acting more like a liquid as it begins to coalesce all over his body. In mere moments, he's covered from head to toe in the same armor that Oren wore that day in the Heavens. The armor of the God Killer.

  Looking at her, Tyranos chuckles, the sound reverberating through the enchanted helm he now wears.

  "Did you already forget? I said it before… this armor and weapon were made for me, not for that idiot. He was only ever supposed to have them for a short time, to pave the way forward. I must admit, being forced to spend all these months tracking down my property has left me downright furious. I probably wouldn't have let you live even if you had killed him if I'm being honest."

  No, Sophia had thought not. Not that she would have killed Oren even if she thought her uncle was telling the truth. The Ancient God just wanted to see her hurt some more. He wanted to see her murder and then make her beg for nonexistent mercy afterwards.

  She refused to py his games. She refused to admit defeat, even now. And despite how bad the situation was… it wasn't over. Not yet. She needed to get Oren to safety, but she also couldn't leave everything at just this.

  Unlike the armor, Tyranos actually takes the time to unwrap the God Killer's bde. Holding it aloft, he hefts it a few times before nodding to himself. Then, he points it in her direction.

  "Any st words, niece?"

  That's as good of a cue as any, Sophia figures. With a snarl, she focuses on Tyranos… and for the first time ever, she purposefully unleashes the full power of her true domains.

  "I curse you Tyranos, God of Tyranny and Conquest. I curse you, O' King of the Void. I curse you, Brother of Law. May Misfortune dog your every step. May Folly influence your every action. I. Curse. You."

  There's true divine power behind her words. All of the divine power she can muster on short notice. Funny, she'd always thought she was a Minor Goddess. But all this time, that had been a lie to. Her father's divine bindings had reduced her to a point where he could force the 'proper' domains on her. It kept her small and weak.

  She would come to terms with everything her father had done to her ter. But right now? Right now, Sophia pushes all of her hatred, all of her anger, and all of her rage into this one act.

  The force of her words reverberates through the air and proves enough to make even an Ancient God stumble for but a moment. But then… a moment is all she needed. A moment was exactly what she'd been looking for.

  Pulling Oren close, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she dares, Sophia's left hand goes to the ring on her right. And just as her Uncle is straightening back up, she activates it, flinging both her and Oren from the cave… all the way back to her refuge.

  Truthfully, the ring had been a backup pn that Sophia had never told Oren about because it was a backup pn for him. Back then, when she'd taken him as her servant but not trusted him as far as she could throw him, Sophia had believed there was every possibility Oren would snap at some point and try to kill her anyways.

  The ring was to be her escape. Her way of getting away from him in the event that the worst case scenario came to pass. Or rather, what she'd thought was the worst case scenario at the time.

  As the two of them nd heavily on the floor of the cave where they'd fought and killed Raythe together what feels like a lifetime ago, Sophia grimaces when Oren chokes on blood. The nding was not good for his injury but… she can't help him right now. Not yet anyways.

  "S-Sit tight Oren. Please, focus on breathing, focus on living. We're not safe yet."

  Funny how having the veil lifted from her eyes is making Sophia think more clearly than she ever had when she still thought she was the Goddess of Wisdom. Still, her logic feels irrefutable. Tyranos had passed them on the road going back the way they'd come from, towards Oakvale and this very refuge. And then… he hadn't shown up until the very end in Goldriver, likely sometime after they'd rescued Aureo.

  Before that… he must have been trying to figure out what happened to Raythe. And given how he'd talked about his subordinate, it sure sounded like he'd learned of Raythe's death somehow. And if he knew about Raythe's death…

  "SOPHIA!"

  Sophia flinches as Tyranos' presence descends upon the refuge. How he got here so fast, she couldn't say, but she's gd she assumed they didn't have any breathing room. She'd already been up and halfway across the refuge, making for her jewelry box.

  Grabbing the damn thing, Sophia runs back to Oren even as the wards begin to buckle and bend inward, steadily breaking under the wrath of a very angry Ancient God. The Otherworlder, meanwhile, is on his side, the dagger still in his back and poking through his front. There's so much blood… but Sophia can only hold faith that he will live long enough for her to help him. For now…

  "I'm sorry for this Oren. Prepare yourself for another hard nding."

  Practically ripping open the jewelry box, Sophia grabs another ring at random and all but sms it down onto her finger. Just as the wards of this refuge break, Sophia throws herself over Oren's body, clinging to him for dear life as she activates the second ring.

  An instant ter they're thrown to another hidden refuge somewhere else. Somewhere Tyranos shouldn't know about yet. Somewhere safe.

  But then… is anywhere safe at this point? The King of the Void has the God Killer's armor and bde. They're so fucking screwed…

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: Chekov's Magical Ring finally comes into py. For those that don't remember, the ring comes from all the way back in Chapter 17 where I used Oren's POV to hide its true purpose. After all, if Sophia needed to use it to run from HIM, he couldn't be allowed to know what it did.

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